Airplane construction



Aug. 13, 1946. "MWATTER 2,405,918

AIRPLANE CONSTRUCTION Filed May 15, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet'l wir full... um

INVENTOR Michael Waiter A TTORNE Y Aww, 1946. y M. WATTER .2,4%,918AImLANE CONSTRUCTION Filed May 15, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTQRMichael Watt By l v l?. l

ATTORNEY ZAOSS ug. 13, i946. M. WATTER AIRPLANE CONSTRUCTION I Filed May13, 1944 3 SheebS-Sheet 3 NVENTOR Michael Waiter.

ATTORNEY Patented Ang. 13, 1946 V2um"fri-:11a .STA-res PATENT ofendeAIRPLANE ,RUCTION Edward Budd Manufacturing company, Philadelphia,`-Pa., a corporation of `Pcnir'rszyl- Vania Application May 1'3, 1944,Serial N0."5135,46"1

(Cl. v244;-119? l14 tClaims. 1

This invention relates to airplane 'construction, particularly toairplanes having tricycle landing gear 'with one wheel located in thenose of the '-fuselage, and has -for fan object the 'provision ofimprovements in this art. The jpresent invention is an improvement uponthat disclosed in the application of Michael Watter, Serial No. 451,390,fl'ed lJuly I8, 11942.

One of the particular fob'jects of the invention is 'to provide in thenose o'f a `|sen-ii-m'onocoque fuselage a construction which efficientlytakes and distributes lthe loads imposed through the nose landing Wheel.

Another object is to distribute these loads through a .fuselage bulkheadand fa pilots plat'- form or .iiiglht deck into tl'ie `walls of thefuselage nose.

The enumerated and yother fob-jects 'and advantages of the inventionwill Abe apparent 'from the following description of an vexemplaryembodiment thereof, reference bei-ng "made to the accompanying drawingswherein:

Figure l'is a side elevation, `'partly in section, of an airplaneembodying the invention Figure 2 is a skeletonized top isometric view;

Figure 3 is a side front View vof the landing gear and relatedstructure;

Figure 4 is a localized perspective view `in the zone 4 of Figure '3;'and Y l Figure 5 is a section taken on the =line l'r-i of Figure 4.

Referring to the drawings, the airplane l'ncludes a fuselage Ill, wingsll, nacelle I4, propellers l5, r'main landing wheels I 6, and `a noselanding wheel Il. The main landing Wheels are located on the nacellesnear'the `center of gravity and while the .airplane is at rest the majorportion of the weight is carried thereon and only a small proportion onthe nose wheel and strut; but 'if 'a low nose landing is made a veryheavy load may be placed on the nose wheel and this concentrated load iseiliciently diStributedA int'o the adjacent body structure whereby to`avoic'l undue localized stresses and buckling.

The vnose wheel strut is supraorted upon a plurality of pairs of spacedarms 2| hinged to heavy horizontal reinforcing frame members 22 of astrong bulkhead '23. inasmuch as the bulkhead isf'designe'd to stop theforward movement of vcargo in case of an "accident, it is referred to asthe Acrash bulkhead. The horizontal members 22 are secured to two heavy'spaced vertical frame members Aor struts 24 of the bulkhead, acontinuous sheet web 25 lling the space between and beyond the hea'vyframe members.

The flight de'c'k `2t is locatedab'ove the *level of the major portion fthe I(fargoeiallvy'hg spiace, its rear end being secured vt'o thebulkhead and its sides and liront end beinglfs'ecuifed Eto the -eclosingwalls of the friese. The `-flight deck fis formed of fra-ine members Tland 'connecting sheet metal webs 28 adjacent the front end. Among themembers there 4are uovo longitudin'als 2'9 whi'oh'exted I'n the`Vertltal ffa''le members 24 'of the bulkhead to the ''lOt 0f the nose.At the nose vthey zcnr'ir'iect t'o two frame members L3l'l which yextenddownwardly and rear- 'wa'rdly 'to the bulkhead.

The nose wheel rendons into -a weil 3l which is connected at 'the rearlto the bulkhead, and at the bottom to the bottoni wal-1 of thenoseehclosure. 'The side walls #3-2 -of the weil are "of heavy frame 'andsheet web construction 'aligned With and secured to the spaced bulkheadveritio'ais J2e and the spaced hose iongitudina'is 3o.

The upperdiagonal edges ci the we11 side walls are braced by heavydiagonal `fit'iririe members 3 3 and connected by lsteps `3'4. v"lheside'walls iiiclude horizontal 'framevniember's A3l which 'are secured tothe bulkhead horizontale 22 and to the diagonais aja. g I

The bottoni sneu of the bodyat the bottom of the whe-ei wei-1 comprisesdeep side piates 35 and 'an end plate S. The side plates 35 vcc'l'mprisepart o'f vthe spaced lohgitudinals from the nose and the end plate V36forms a connection across andH between side plates and *longitudinalsThe wheel and strut are raised and Iowered by va hinged drag strut Ml'and suitable motive means (not shownrsuppor't'ed -o'n the bulkhead at adistan-ce above the arms' 2|. n*

The step treads ma'yfbewliiade 'of plywood b'u't the risers arepreferably form-ed of substantiai metal framing to form' al strongwtieacross, 4the inclined from; 'ends of the weil 'side walls. n

r`Ifhe transverse 'iframe iiietiibers4 of the lflight dec-k connect attheir ends with vertical ribs or bulkheads -45 of the nose shell. At'the f ront of thenose shell where the shear` panel plate 28 is providedthere is secured a horizontal frame member it to which the plate 'isattached. Y

It is thus seen that 'the loads which are iinposed upon the bulkhead arepart transmitted deck framing and spread throughout the girth of thenose shell. Largely the load passes up the strong spaced decklongitudinals 29 and passes down and back through the noseVlongitudinals 30 to the bottom shell plates 35. The flight deck rigidlyties the sides of the nose shell together to prevent deformation underthe loads imposed, the shear panel 28 and horizontal frame element 46being effective for distributing the load and rigidifying the nose shellat the front.. Y

-In addition to the buckling load imposed by the landing gear, there isa winch 48 mounted on the bulkhead in the cargo compartment for pullingcargo up a rear ramp 49. The winch is mounted near the mid-height of thebulkhead approximately behind the end of the night deck where it willleast tend to buckle the bulkhead. `mWhile one embodiment of theinvention has beendescribed for purposes of illustration it is to beunderstood that there may be various embpdiments within the limits ofthe prior art and the scope of the subjoined claims.

YWhat is claimed is:

f1.' AAn airplane comprising in combination, a fuselage including anenclosed nose, a nose bulkhead,'anose landing wheel and strut meanssecuredY to said bulkhead, aflight deck secured at its-rear end to theupper part of said bulkhead, said deck being secured at its sides andfront endto the enclosing walls of the fuselage nose, and longitudinalframe members extending up said bulkhead, forward along the deck, anddownward and rearward along the nose walls toa point of connection withthe bulkhead in the wheel attachment region.

2. An airplane comprising in combination, a fuselage including anenclosed nose, a nose bulkhead, a deck secured at its rear end to thebulkhadat a distance above the lower edge and at itslfront end to thefuselage nose enclosure, said bulkhead including a pair of spacedvertical struts extending from the lower edge to the deck, said deckincluding a pair of beam members secured to the bulkhead struts andextending forward to the front -wall of the nose, said nose enclosureincluding a pair of frame members secured to the deck beams andextending downward and rearward to the lower ends of the bulkheadstruts, and a nose landing gear-mounted onlthe rear portion of theenclosed frame structure thus formed.

3. An airplane'comprising in combination, a fuselage includinganenclosed nose, a nose bulkh'ead,.aY deck secured at its rear end tothe bulkhead and at itsfront end to the nose enclosure, frame elementsforming a closed loop up the bulkhead'forward along thedeck, anddownward and rearward along. the nose` enclosure to the baseof thebulkhead, landing gear mounted on the fuselage in the region wheretheframe elements join at the bulkhead, and lateral frame members in saiddeck for transferring loadsl into the sides of the nose enclosure.

4. .An airplane comprisingin combination, a;

fuselage including an enclosed nose, a nose bulkhead, a deck secured atits rear end to the bulk head and at its front end to the noseenclosure, frame elements forming an enclosure up the bulkhead, forwardalongthe deck, and downward and rearward along the nose enclosure tu thebase of `the bulkhead, andlanding gear mounted on the fuselage intheregiorrwhere the frame elements join the bulkhead, said deck includinglateral frame members on each side connecting the longitudinal frameelements to the sides of the nose enclosure, and at its front end thedeck including sheet web shear panels connecting the frame members andelements.

5. An airplane comprising in combination, a fuselage including anenclosed nose, a nose bulkhead, spaced vertical struts carried by thebulkhead near the horizontal center, a nose landing gear secured bystruts to the bulkhead adjacent the vertical struts, and load-carryingelements connecting the bulkhead intermediate its height to the noseenclosure.

6. An airplane comprising in combination, a fuselage including anenclosed nose, a transverse nose bulkhead, a nose landing gear securedby struts to the bulkhead, load-carrying elements connecting thebulkhead intermediate its height to the nose enclosure, and a Verticallongitudinal wall connected between the load-carrying elements and thelower part of the nose enclosure forward of the bulkhead.

'7. An airplane comprising in combination, a fuselage including a noseportion, a bulkhead in the nose at a distance behind the front end, nosethe well including steps on the front end, which extend to the platformopening.

8. An airplane comprising in combination, a fuselage, a bulkhead in saidfuselage at a distance behind the front end, means including landinggearimposing a buckling load on said bulkhead, and frame means extendingin a loop from the bottom up the bulkhead to a point intermediate theheight of the bulkhead, thence forwardly to the front end, thence downthe front end and back along the bottom of the fuselage to the startingpoint at the bottom of the bulkhead.

'9..An airplane comprising `in combination, a fuselage including a noseshell portion, a full bulkhead in the fuselage behind the front end ofthe nose, the bulkhead at its lower end being connected to the bottom ofthe fuselage, nose landing gear on the fuselage located adjacent thebulkhead and having anchorage to the bulkhead intermediate its heightand width whereby to impose a dishpanning buckling load on the bulkhead,and a lateral tie frame structure in said fuselage secured at its rearend to said bulkhead intermediate its height and secured at its frontend to the front of the fuselage nose shell whereby to relieve thebulkhead of buckling distortion loads imposed by the landing gear andtransmit them into the' fuselage nose shell.

1C'.A An airplanecomprising in combination,l a fuselage including aAnose shell portion, a full bulkhead in the fuselage behind the frontendof the nose, the bulkhead at its lower end being connected to the bottomof the fuselage, a framed well in the bottom of the fuselage secured tothe bulkhead and the nose shell portion, nose landing gear on thefuselage located at the Well and having anchorage to the bulkheadintermediate its height and width whereby to impose a dishpanningbuckling load on the bulkhead, and a lateral tie frame structure in saidfuselage secured at its rear end to said bulk head intermediate itsheight and secured at its front end to the fuselage nose shell wherebyto relieve the bulkhead of buckling distortion loads imposed by thelanding gear and transmit them into the fuselage nose shell.

11. An airplane comprising in combination, a

fuselage including a nose portion, a full bulkhead in the nose at adistance behind the front end, the bulkhead at its lower end beingconnected to the bottom of the fuselage, nose landing gear on thefuselage adjacent the bulkhead and having anchorage to the bulkheadintermediate its height and width whereby to impose a dishpanningbuckling load on the bulkhead, a framed bottom well in the fuselage forthe landing gear, the frame of the well at its rear being secured to thebulkhead and at its bottom to the fuselage nose whereby to impose adishpanning buckling load on the bulkhead, a framed bottom well in thefuselage for the landing gear, the frame of the Well at its rear beingsecured to the bulkhead and at its bottom to the fuselage noseenclosure, and a lateral tie frame structure in said fuselage secured atits rear end to the bulkhead at the top of the well frame and secured atits front end to the fuselage nose enclosure whereby to relieve thebulkhead of buckling distortion loads imposed by the landing gear andtransmit them into the fuselage nose shell.

13. An airplane comprising in combination, a fuselage enclosure, a fulltransverse bulkhead in said fuselage enclosure, means includingstructural connections imposing a load on said bulkhead directedlongitudinally of the fuselage tending to cause it to buckle or dishpanin its portion intermediate its side and upper and lower edges, andlongitudinal frame means secured between the intermediate portion of thebulkhead and the fuselage enclosure to prevent buckling of the bulkhead.

14. In an airplane, in combination, a housed- I in structurelongitudinally of streamlined form,

an internal frame element of the structure adjacent one longitudinalterminus of said structure, a landing gear connected structurally tosaid element and when the structure is borne upon the gear subjectingthe element to a bending moment which tends to distort it and divert itfrom its true plane, together with a longitudinally extendingmoment-counteracting tie member tying the portion of said elementsubjected to the bending moment to the adjacent terminus of saidstructure.

MICHAEL WATTER.

